Defiance

The series is set in the near future, where aliens known collectively as Votans have come to Earth seeking a new home after their star system was destroyed. However, upon reaching Earth they found that they were not welcome. The Votans waited in orbit for six years as prolonged negotiations with Earth governments for settlement on the planet ultimately proved fruitless. With supplies on their ships running low, eventually in desperation the Votans began a war with humans to force the issue and make Earth their new home. During the war, Votan ships were mysteriously destroyed, rained down on Earth and accidentally released terraformer technology, which made haphazard and radical changes to the biosphere and even the geology of Earth, making the planet dangerous to both humans and the aliens. The earth was scorched, chasms opened in the ground, and the surface of the planet was covered with dust and debris. After decades of war, both sides had fought to the point of mutual exhaustion, and a ceasefire was declared. Few organized governments remained for either the humans or the aliens, and both sides factionalized as their members began looking out for themselves. In several areas, local human and Votan militias began to band together when they realized that they had to cooperate if they hoped to survive on this new, almost alien planet.

The series largely revolves around the character of Joshua Nolan. Nolan was only ten years old when the Votans arrived and he served in the military during the war. With the war now over, he returns to his hometown of St. Louis to find that it is no longer the city he left; it is little more than a border town renamed "Defiance". Deciding that his services are needed, Nolan takes up a position as the Chief Lawkeeper in Defiance, so he can protect the town from dangerous clashes between humans and aliens, military scavengers and other dangerous visitors who occasionally enter the town. READ MORE

Cast:
Grant Bowler as Joshua Nolan, a former Marine and the Chief Lawkeeper of Defiance
Julie Benz as Amanda Rosewater, the Mayor of Defiance
Tony Curran as Datak Tarr, a Castithan and the right hand and chief advisor to Amanda
Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr, Datak's wife she is also a Castithan
Stephanie Leonidas as Irisa Nyira, an Irathient warrior who is Nolan's adopted daughter and serves as his deputy
Mia Kirshner as Kenya Rosewater, the self-assured, dauntless town madam
Graham Greene as Rafe McCawley, the owner and operator of "the largest mine in the territory"
Fionnula Flanagan as Nicolette "Nicky" Riordon, the ex-mayor and trusted mentor of Amanda.

Joshua Nolan (Grant Bowler)
Joshua Nolan is a former lieutenant in the Earth Military Coalition who fought in the alien conflict. Born prior to the Arks’ arrival, he saw his comfortable life turned upside down when the war between the humans and Votans began. The conflict took its toll, and in the aftermath of Arkfall, he found himself a wanderer in a dangerous new world. There he was joined by Irisa, a young Irathient he raised as his own, and who served as his lone companion in the lawless badlands.

Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz)
Amanda Rosewater is the Mayor of Defiance. Every day, she uses her political wits to give this struggling town a chance for survival. Born in New York in 2011, Amanda shouldered a great responsibility at an early age, serving as a stand-in parent for her sister when their mother and father died during the Pale Wars.
Adrift in a post-war world, Amanda eventually heard of a town where humans and Votans were attempting to coexist. She traveled to Defiance and accepted a job cleaning the mayor’s office. Despite these humble beginnings, she so impressed then-Mayor Nicolette Riordon that, upon her retirement, Nicky appointed Amanda to finish out her term. Now, Amanda is determined to maintain peace in the community, an ambitious task in this deadly new world.

Kenya (Mia Kirshner)
Kenya is the beautiful spitfire who runs the NeedWant, the town’s bar and brothel. Self-assured and dauntless, she has an unwavering devotion to the town that has inexorably woven her into many of its complicated affairs.
Growing up, Kenya rebelled by making trouble and embracing her sexuality. When Kenya arrived in Defiance, she took up residence at the NeedWant, eventually becoming its proprietor. She has a keen insight into the needs of others, but a blind spot when it comes to her own emotions.

Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas)
An attractive Irathient woman, Irisa is Nolan’s tacit second in command. Smart, independent and feisty, Irisa still struggles with the weight of her unusual upbringing. A drifter since birth, she only stays in Defiance due to the loyalty she feels for Nolan.
Nolan has encouraged Irisa to leave behind her traumatic past. He rescued her at a young age, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Stahma Tarr (Jaime Murray)
The wife of Datak Tarr, one of the most powerful men in Defiance, Stahma is beautiful and loyal, the perfect picture of a Castithan wife. Beneath the surface, however, lies a dark side that is ready to break from the traditional roles assigned her by her caste.
Having met Datak during her voyage on an Ark, Stahma aided him in his business during the Pale Wars. When the fighting ended, the two found themselves among a group of migrant settlers and eventually settled in Defiance. There, Stahma plays the part of the dutiful wife while secretly harboring her own ambitions.

Datak Tarr (Tony Curran)
DatakTarr is the primary figure in Defiance’s underworld, running everything from gambling to weapons smuggling and organized crime. True to his Castithan ways, Datak is always on the lookout for opportunities that allow him to get his hooks into people so he can later manipulate them to his own ends.
Born into a lower caste on his homeworld, Datak was a survivor who found his way onto an Ark despite his low standing. There he met Stahma, who admired his instincts, and the two became husband and wife. Once they arrived in Defiance, he used brute force and wits to establish a powerful business interest in the town. More than anything, Datak desires legitimacy and a better future for his family.

Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene)
Rafe McCawley is Defiance’s richest and most powerful human – a mine owner whose family has been in this territory for generations.
Raised by a tough-as-nails father, Rafe disobeyed his father’s wishes and enlisted. After the Pale Wars, he took his wife and burgeoning family back to his home of St. Louis, now barely recognizable due to terraforming. He longs for the world as it was before the Votans arrived. As one of the founders of Defiance, Rafe has amassed a considerable fortune in the mining business, and now seeks to exert his influence and champion the advancement of his family in the town’s political sphere.

SpoilerTV

It takes forever to find yourself
But it only takes one second
to forget who you are.

What the hell?! I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us, no, no, no, we -- we search out things that want to kill us. Yeah? Huh?
Or eat us! You know who does that? Crazy people! We...are insane!

2.7 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS, 1.4 MILLION ADULTS 25-54 AND 1.3 MILLION ADULTS 18-49

MORE THAN SIX MILLION GAMEPLAY HOURS WORLDWIDE

RECORD NUMBER OF SOCIAL EXPOSURES

NEW YORK – April 16, 2013 – New Earth. New Rules. New Records. Syfy’s groundbreaking transmedia event Defiance became the channel’s most-watched scripted series premiere among Adults 18-49 (1.3 million) since 2006 (Eureka).

Defiance also delivered Syfy’s top performance in total viewers (2.7 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.4 million) since 2009 (Warehouse 13) during its two-hour telecast on Monday, April 15 from 9-11PM (ET/PT). While averaging a 2.0 HH rating, Defiance also averaged 479,000 Adults 18-34, the most for a scripted series premiere since 2006.

Since launching worldwide on April 2nd, the Trion Worlds game Defiance has seen players log more than six million hours of gameplay.

Defiance ranked among the top five scripted cable shows in social activity on premiere day, earning 59K social exposures to rank as Syfy’s best series premiere day and its most social scripted telecast ever. It outperformed HBO’s Game of Thrones and The Newsroom, FX’s The Americans, TNT’s Falling Skies and MTV’s Teen Wolf on their respective premiere days. In addition, Syfy Sync – Syfy’s second screen tablet offering - posted its best day ever in uniques and visits as well as the 2nd best performance in page views.

Defiance became Syfy.com’s best series premiere day ever in uniques, page views and visits, while ranking as the #1 section of Syfy’s Digital Portfolio across key metrics.

Defiance is NBC Universal’s biggest day-and-date launch ever, premiering in over 55 countries on April 15th and 16th including the UK, Canada, Germany and France.

Beginning next Monday, April 22, Defiance will assume its regular 9PM time period, followed on Monday, April 29 by the season return of Warehouse 13 at 10PM, comprising Syfy’s Powerful Mondays programming bloc